Paul Manafort Firm Received Ukraine Payout Money Laundering

New financial records reportedly show that at least $1.2 million in payments listed on a handwritten ledger in Ukraine were received by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s consulting firm in the U.S., the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Investigators in Ukraine have called the “Black Ledger,” and the listed payments from 2007 and 2009, evidence of off-the-books money sent to Manafort from a pro-Russian political party. Before Manafort worked for Trump, he worked for the pro-Russian political party as an international political consultant. He has publicly questioned the ledger’s authenticity in statements through a spokesman, but the evidence of payments bolster the ledger’s credibility, the AP reports. Manafort has not denied that the payments occurred, according to the AP, but said in a statement that “any wire transactions received by my company are legitimate payments for political consulting work that was provided. I invoiced my clients and they paid via wire transfer, which I received through a U.S. bank.”

Records show former Trump aide Paul Manafort got payments detailed in a once-secret ledger he suggested was fake. https://t.co/qTyfBrRpHT